Poached Chicken in Vietnamese Flavors

Name: Poached Chicken in Vietnamese Flavors
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: One 4½-pound roasting chicken; 3 dried star anise; 1 rounded teaspoon 5-spice powder; One ¼-inch-thick slice fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped; 3 thick basil stems, crushed; 2 cloves garlic, 1 crushed in its skin, 1 finely chopped; Salt; Pepper from the mill; 3 small zucchini, finely sliced; 3 scallions, thinly sliced on a slant; 1 tablespoon peanut oil; 2 tablespoons unsweetened large coconut flakes; ⅓ cup packed fresh green basil leaves; Nuoc mam as needed; Juice and pulp of 1 lime; Large pinch of cayenne pepper; Meat of 1 cooked lobster, diced into ⅓-inch cubes; 6 fresh opal basil leaves, cut into thin chiffonnade

Preparation info

FCR—
4 to 6
servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The New Making of a Cook

By Madeleine Kamman

Published 1997

About

Modernized from a specialty of my Vietnamese friend N’gao.

Ingredients

One 4½-pound roasting chicken
3 dried star anise
1 rounded

Asia
Europe
Vietnam
France
Main course
Gluten-free

Method

Wash the chicken thoroughly, then pat dry. Add the star anise, 5-spice powder, ginger, basil stems, crushed garlic, salt, and pepper to its cavity. Truss the chicken and shake it well to distribute the aromatics all around the cavity. Refrigerate overnight, covered with plastic wrap. Bring back to room temperature 45 minutes before cooking.

Mix the zucchini, 2 of the scallions, the chop